… National U-15 team departs for Antigua

NEWLY-elected president of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Ricky Skerritt, has admitted that Guyana’s cricket at the moment is riddled with uncertainty, following a High Court ruling recently that the executives of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) are illegal.

Skerritt made the comment during a CWI Press Conference yesterday which was streamed live from Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

“The Guyana situation is troubling; it is a little awkward and it is at the moment riddled with uncertainty. At our board meeting on Tuesday last it was made clear that we would continue to welcome Guyana  aged teams and will do whatever we can to get the Guyana cricket teams involved in our cricket,” Skerritt, who is 62, said.

Skerritt, a former West Indies team manager, who received eight votes to four in a secret ballot conducted during the CWI Annual General Meeting, added, “We have officials here from the Antigua Cricket Association who will host the West Indies Under-15 championships and fortunately the Guyana Under-15 team would be one of those teams; so we will work as soon as we can get more details on the actual legal judgment, without in any way interfering or being in contempt of court.

“We will do everything we can to continue to facilitate youth development through cricket, but we will take it on the advice and we will take it one step at a time … we are setting a deadline by which we need to have clarity and that deadline is still a little bit away.”

Skerritt, who ended the six-year reign of his predecessor, Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron, in the board elections in Kingston on March 24, has pledged that the job of his administration is to ensure that cricket continues.

“But (for) the people of Guyana, the cricket-lovers of Guyana … our job is to ensure cricket continues wherever we can in the interest of West Indies cricket.

“We are going to do everything we can to make sure actual cricket can be played everywhere, and obviously the Guyana situation needs to sort itself out and we will do whatever we can to assist,” Skerritt stated.

The High Court ruled that the executives of the GCB cannot hold themselves out to be office-bearers or to do anything as it relates to the operations of the GCB, because their last elections were unlawful, illegal, null, void and to no legal effect.

The GCB has not had a proper constituted or what many observers have labelled “free and fair” elections for the past ten years, owing to the numerous court injunctions.

The matter was brought before High Court Judge, Justice Fidela Corbin, by Attorney Arudranauth Gossai on behalf of secretary of the Berbice Cricket Board, Rabindranauth Saywack, who claimed that the GCB was operating in contravention of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act established in 2014.

He also challenged the appointment of Stephen Lewis as Cricket Ombudsman, to which the High Court also ruled that the appointment was also declared unlawful, null, void and to no legal effect.

Meanwhile, Guyana National Under-15 cricketers departed yesterday morning to hunt for honours in this year’s Regional Under-15 tournament which will be played in Antigua.

The squad, which benefited from exposure in the just concluded Under-17 Inter-county tournament, appeared high in confidence and well prepared for their competitive regional encounter.

The 14-man team is coached by Julian Moore and managed by Latchman Yadram,